A breath test is a type of test performed on air generated from the act of
exhalation.
Types include:
*
Breathalyzer – by far the most common usage of this term relates to the legal breath test to determine if a person is
driving under the influence
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
of
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
.
*
Hydrogen breath test – it is becoming more and more common for people to undertake a medical test for clinical
diagnosis of dietary disabilities such as
fructose intolerance,
fructose malabsorption,
lactose intolerance and
lactulose intolerance.
*The presence of ''
Helicobacter pylori'' (in peptic ulcer disease) can be tested for with the
urea breath test.
*
Exhaled nitric oxide is a breath test that might signal
airway inflammation such as in
asthma.
*
Breath tests for diseases
Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the Milieu intérieur, internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
All Aerobic respiration, aer ...
have been developed for early detection of
lung cancer,
breast cancer,
pulmonary tuberculosis and many others, to serve as an adjunct to existing medical tests. A trial will commence at
Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England to confirm the efficacy of these breath tests. Phase II and Phase III clinical studies by Menssana Research, Inc. in The United States are also under way.
See also
*
Breath diagnostics
Breath diagnostics involves the analysis of a sample of human breath to monitor, diagnose, and detect diseases and conditions. Besides its primary constituents – nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour – exhaled human breath contains ...
*
Breath gas analysis
Breath gas analysis is a method for gaining information on the clinical state of an individual by monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the exhaled breath. Exhaled breath is naturally produced by the human body through expiration ...
References
Respiration
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